If you’ve ever worked in retail, you’re most likely quite familiar with the unfortunate fact that many people don’t know how to behave. I have a few nasty retail stories, but today’s post is about another issue of etiquette and hygiene: hand washing.

What’s the deal with people on public transit who crowd around the entrances of the vehicle? Instead of moving further inside, they clump and prevent people from getting past. It particularly bothers me when this occurs on the newer model “low rider” (aka low floor) buses. Due to the internal configuration, a newer low floor bus has about 1/3 less capacity than an older model. These new buses lend themselves to the clumping, as no one seems particularly interested in climbing the two small steps required to access the seating at the back of the bus.

Come on people! Is it really that hard to get up there? I’ve been particularly annoyed with these lazy bones riders through the winter. We’ve had some bitter cold weather, and the bus driver will leave people standing outside rather than make any attempt to corral them to the back by shouting.

To make matters worse, the automated stop announcement system has also provisioned drivers with a button to push which plays a recorded announcement asking riders to ‘please move back’. Unfortunately there are some problems with this.

Alright, this article is for all the men out there that don’t know how to use a urinal. Almost every time I visit a public washroom, I see paper in one of the urinals.

HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? HELLO??

In case you haven’t noticed, urinals are not capable of flushing paper. Paper is not provided. So that means these dumbasses go and get paper from either a paper towel or toilet paper dispenser and knowingly put it in the urinal. This is absolutely disgusting! Why? What purpose is served by this? If you need to use paper while doing your business, you shouldn’t be using a urinal.

If you’re one of those people who do this… don’t. Just don’t. It’s gross and it’s wrong.

With St. Valentine’s Day around the corner, love is in the air everywhere you go. Unfortunately most relationships do not get a storybook ending. Breaking up is always messy business. Someone always gets hurt, but unless you’re a sadist you’re not supposed to like it. So what’s the best way to end it?

Cut off all ties
You don’t actually break it off… you just don’t contact them anymore. This can also involve blocking e-mail addresses, phone numbers and online ties like Facebook and MSN. This is a terrible way to go if you’re in an actual relationship. If you’ve had a couple of dates or a one-night-stand, you can probably get away with it. But would you want to? Any more than that and you’ll probably cause a devastating emotional blow to your ex. The only exception to the rule would be if you’re trying to escape from an abusive relationship. Conclusion: Cowardly and mean-spirited.

E-mail / SMS / Letter
You can drop the bad news in a letter. In print you can make a logical argument or get as nasty as you want without having to see or hear any of the fallout. After the deed is done you can block their e-mail address, or in the case of snail mail, “return to sender” and just walk away. Very classy.

Over the phone
This is generally acceptable if you’ve had a short relationship, measured in the weeks rather than months. You don’t have to deal with looking him or her in the eyes when you break the news which is easier on you, but the other person at least gets to interact with you. You can talk about why you want to break up; but, they’re going to ask some tough questions of you.

In person
You know this is the best way to break the news, but it’s the hardest. You have to look your lover in the eyes and tell him or her you don’t want to be with them anymore. There could be kicking and screaming, shouting and crying involved, and it could go on for hours. I’m sure you’d rather be sailing, but it’s one of those things that just has to be done. It’s a way of showing respect to the other person, although the breakupee probably won’t see it that way.